Jasmine had planned a flash mob at the rally. She’d been secretly working with teachers, the principal, staff, and few students. Hence the hilarious moment with Principal Mock and many more awkward interactions with other adults. It was all a great distraction up until now.
After eating every lunch together, walking to and from school together, and especially meeting in the girls’ bathroom to talk, it was dawning on Jasmine that it was all over. It was almost like her friends had disappeared— except worse. Hannah and Mia were still buddy-buddy. They kept doing the “friends” stuff. It was kind of like a part of her was missing. The bathroom’s empty, echo-y silence made Jasmine’s loneliness cut deep. Still, she did have Eddy. He was very sweet, not to mention handsome. And he was waiting for her at the main entrance.
Chapter 9
“Jasmine, don’t think so hard,” said Eddy as he snuck up behind her and kissed her on the cheek. “It looks painful. What are we working on today?”
For the past week Eddy had dedicated himself to whatever Jasmine needed, from stealing sticky notes from the English teacher to giving Jasmine a gentle shoulder rub at lunch.
They stood near the main entrance. She leaned into him and gave him a squeeze. “We’ve just got these signs to hang, and I need to finish the banner . . .” Jasmine’s words trailed off as she smelled something gross.
It smelled like mud and fish guts rotting. At first she didn’t want to say anything, but as Eddy put his arm around her, the smell got stronger.
“Do you smell that?” she asked. She started looking around.
“I don’t smell anything,” said Eddy.
Jasmine moved away from him, not wanting to make it too obvious. The stench faded.
Jasmine handed him the tape and signs and said, “We’re going to split up.” It wasn’t just that he smelled; there was a job to be done. “You go and hang these signs in the freshman hallway. I’ll be in the junior hallway getting things ready.”
Jasmine climbed the stairs. A burst of cold air ran shivers down her spine. Then it was gone.
She reached the top and walked down the long hallway lined with gray lockers. The only people in the building besides Jasmine and Eddy were the principal and the custodians. Because she was on the homecoming committee, she had special permission to be there later than other students. She also had access to some of the custodians’ closets. They were like little dank dungeons with the smell of chemicals and rotting things.
Jasmine walked over to one of the closets and grabbed the banner she had been storing in there, as well as a handful of paintbrushes. The banner had the words “Spirit Week” outlined in pencil. Now she needed to paint it. She unrolled the banner to see how it looked, expecting to find her words stenciled on the paper. Instead she found a huge a scribbled image of what resembled a pocket watch with its circular body, chain, and clock face. The image was sloppily drawn using brown greasy sludge that smelled like something rotten. She went back into the closet to see if she had just grabbed the wrong banner, but it was the only one there. Her heart pounded; her jaw clenched.
Who would have done something like this? Why would they draw a pocket watch with mud? Jasmine couldn’t make a connection. Nonetheless, she had so much work to do. Now that she was starting over with the banner, taking time to think about what had just happened was not an option.
Jasmine took out a roll of tape and some signs she had printed earlier in the day. She started hanging them up. The lights were dim. All doors were locked. Jasmine hung a sign by the stairs and continued to walk down the silent, empty hallway. She took a step and behind her she heard the shuffle of another set of feet. She whipped around to see who it was.
No one.
She quickly hung up another sign and walked on. The shuffling was louder this time.
“This isn’t funny, Eddy!” she said.
No answer. She started walking again. The footsteps sounded so close she could touch the person.
Jasmine spun around in the empty hallway. “Eddy! Stop it!”
Again, no one, but when Jasmine exhaled she saw the foggy puff of her breath, as if she were outside in the winter.
She ran toward the stairs. Toward Eddy who was still in the freshman hallway.
As she got closer to Eddy, the lights went out. The hall had no windows. Even the emergency lights were out. Total blackness enveloped her.
Jasmine couldn’t see the walls beside her, let alone her feet below her. She tripped over a doorstop, landing on the tile floor. She could feel a warm breath near her ear. She screamed. The breath whispered something. It seemed like a warning. “Beware . . .” But Jasmine couldn’t make out the rest of the words. She fumbled in the blackness to get up. Feeling her way along the lockers, she made it to the stairs. As she descended, she could see the distant glow of the freshman hallway.
Eddy was busy rolling tape to stick to the back of the homecoming signs. He already had one side of the hallway covered in Spirit Week signs. He clearly had been busy while she was upstairs.
Jasmine was shaking. She was still in shock.
“What’s wrong, babe?” Eddy asked.
Worried that Eddy would think she was a nut job, Jasmine said, “This is going to sound crazy, but someone drew a pocket watch on the banner in mud. I mean who does that? And a pocket watch of all things!”
“Do you think someone is playing a joke on you? Mia and Hannah aren’t your friends anymore. Maybe they did it.” He gently enveloped her in a hug. “Come on now. Everything is okay. I’m sure there’s a logical reason for it all.”
His words were reassuring, but his body language wasn’t. He looked on edge.
“Whoever it was, or whatever it was, just made a whole lot more work for me to do this weekend.”
Scooping up her backpack and the rest of the signs, Eddy said, “We can finish it together this weekend. Let’s get out of here.”
The lights flickered as Jasmine and Eddy left the school. Jasmine couldn’t seem to lose the feeling that someone was near.
Chapter 10
Sunday afternoon Jasmine’s doorbell rang. She ran to the door—stomach fluttering, palms sweating, her mind racing. Eddy had never come to her house. Hopefully he wouldn’t judge her based on the home her parents bought as a fixer-upper but never got around to fixing up.
She opened the door. Eddy stood with a bouquet of flowers he had picked on his way to see her. “These are for you, my lovely flower.”
Jasmine took the flowers. The whole thing was a little over the top for two people meeting up on a Sunday afternoon to finish a banner. Still, it was very sweet.
Jasmine led him to her room where a clean banner, brushes, and paint waited. She had already started to sketch the words and the school’s mascot, a phantom, onto the banner.
“Incredible job, Jasmine,” Eddy said as he moved closer to Jasmine. “You are very talented.”
“It’s really not a big deal. I just stenciled some letters and drew a ghost.”
“I’m not just talking about the banner,” Eddy said. “The whole week—you planned it all.” Eddy scooted closer as he spoke.
“I had some help.” She winked at him.
“Some, but not from Mia and Hannah. Some friends they are. They didn’t even check to see if you needed anything. I’m just glad I’m here . . .” He put his hand on hers. “With you.”
Jasmine blushed. “I’m glad you’re here, too.”
Eddy put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a delicate earring. “I’ve been meaning to give this to you, but I just couldn’t seem to find the right time. Until now.” He brushed a piece of her dark hair out of her face.
Looking down at the gift she said, “It’s beautiful! Thank you so much.”
“It’s sort of an heirloom. This earring belonged to someone very dear to me. Unfortunately, I can’t find the other earring.”
“It’s beautiful,” Jasmine said again. She grabbed his face and gave him a kiss. She turned her head to take out her o
ld earring and slip the new one into her ear. “I guess we had better get to work, huh?”
Eddy started to kiss Jasmine again and again. “It has been so long, Jasmine. Such a long wait.” He was moving his hands along her side.
Jasmine was not ready for this. She really liked Eddy. He was very sweet, but this seemed a little too quick. “Come on, Eddy. We really need to get this done.”
He was softly kissing her neck.
“I really don’t want to do this right now. I—” She felt uncomfortable and tried to sit up a little. “Eddy, let’s get our work done . . . The committee is counting on me . . .” But the more she spoke and tried to sit up, the more forceful and pushy Eddy got.
Eddy was almost on top of her now. He reached the edge of her pants, feeling for the button.
“Eddy! Stop!” Jasmine pushed him off of her and sat up. “I think it’s time for you to go.”
Eddy glared at Jasmine as if he absolutely hated her guts. He towered over Jasmine. Fear flashed through her. She quickly scurried off the bed and away from him.
Then, as if a switch shut off, he was fine. Smiling, as if nothing had happened. “You’re probably right. I should have known better.” He gave a sweet bow, as if he were an 1800s gentleman, and walked out of the room.
Chapter 11
It was a gray Monday with rain spitting down from the sky. Hannah and Mia walked to school in their pajamas. On Friday, Eddy had reminded them to wear their pajamas for Spirit Week.
While walking they met a classmate wearing his backpack on his chest, then other students with their jackets on backwards. As they got closer to the school, they saw more and more people who had their clothes on backwards. Some were even walking backwards.
“Has the world started spinning backwards? I thought it was Pajama Day.” Mia looked a little like a drowned Cookie Monster in her blue, rain-soaked footie pajamas.
“Great! Just great.” Hannah was so angry her face had turned the same color as her matching red footie pajamas. “Eddy lied about what day it is! He made us look like morons.”
The entrance to the school was covered in a shimmer of black and green streamers. The homecoming banner, which Jasmine had managed to finish, looked like it was written in emeralds.
Mia and Hannah entered the school. People stared at them. Some even pointed and laughed. They did the walk of shame down the hall to their lockers.
Their lockers were right next to Jasmine’s. The three girls picked the lockers the year before, when they were best friends. Back then they would share ChapStick and class notes. Now Jasmine stood there talking and giggling with Eddy. Most of the time she pretended Mia and Hannah didn’t exist.
Jasmine and Eddy had already talked about what happened in Jasmine’s room the other day. He apologized over and over again. Jasmine decided to forgive him. He’d been so sweet up until that moment. It had to have been a mistake. Jasmine and Eddy were now laughing and having a wild thumb-wrestling match.
Mia stepped right between Jasmine and Eddy. “What did we ever do to you?”
“That was low!” Hannah squeezed the side of her hips. She was trying hard not to grab Eddy’s shirt. She had an older brother and could hold her own in a fight. Besides, this kind of sleazeball would probably have no problem swinging at a girl. “I suppose you’re in on it too, huh, Jasmine?”
“I don’t even know what you’re talking about.” Jasmine stepped away from Eddy.
“Your prince charming, here, lied to us on Friday. He said today was Pajama Day,” Hannah told Jasmine.
“He totally made us look like fools. I know we don’t talk anymore, but I didn’t know you hated us.” Mia sounded more hurt than angry.
“Look,” Eddy stepped in and put his arm around Jasmine, as if to say that he owned her now. “This is one big misunderstanding. You must have heard me wrong because I would have never said that.”
“I know what I heard,” said Mia. “You did it on purpose.”
“Sorry, guys. I must have gotten my days mixed up,” Eddy said with an insincere smile. He turned to Jasmine and pulled her away, snickering under his breath.
“Did you really lie to them?” Jasmine asked after they were away from Mia and Hannah.
“Yeah, I was just messing with them. I thought you would think it was funny.” He started to laugh when he thought about how ridiculous they looked. “Did you see them? Matching footie pajamas—which one is dumb and which one is dumber?”
Jasmine wasn’t laughing. “That wasn’t nice.”
“Come on, baby. It was a harmless prank.”
Jasmine was still silent. Eddy dropped to his knees in front of her. “Please forgive me, baby,” he cried out dramatically, trying to make Jasmine smile. People in the hall gathered around, laughing at the whole scene.
Jasmine couldn’t take it. She burst into laughter, too. “Alright, alright. Get up, you goofball.”
“You have to admit, they looked pretty funny,” said Eddy.
“Fine,” Jasmine caved, “they did look a little funny but don’t mess with them anymore.”
“Aye, aye, captain,” Eddy said as he saluted Jasmine. They entered their first-hour class with Mr. Crapsnik.
Chapter 12
The smell of formaldehyde was so strong Jasmine could taste it. Mr. Crapsnik wore his white lab coat and safety goggles.
“We have been discussing the friendly phylum Annelida. Today we are going to dissect our little invertebrate neighbor, the earthworm.” Mr. Crapsnik held up the worm as if it were talking. In a high-pitched voice he said, “Howdy class! Please make sure you follow all the instructions and pick yourself out a nice, juicy, wormy friend.”
“Mr. Crapsnik is one strange dude,” whispered Mia.
“I can’t tell if he’s trying to be funny and failing at it, or if he really is that creepy.” Hannah laughed under her breath.
Each pair of students filed to the back of the room with their dead worm and a bunch of tools that may or may not have been stolen from a condemned emergency room.
Eddy and Jasmine’s lab station was across from Hannah and Mia’s station. Jasmine turned to Mia and Hannah and whispered, “I’m sorry.” She truly was, but Hannah and Mia both stared coldly at her. They were still wearing soggy footie pajamas.
Eddy nudged her and whispered, “Don’t worry about it. They’re fine. Help me slice this worm open. We need to pin him down.”
Jasmine still really cared about Mia and Hannah, but there wasn’t much she could do to prove it to them at the moment. She turned back to Eddy as he made a cut down the length of the worm’s body. Jasmine felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned around.
No one.
The formaldehyde was starting to give Jasmine a headache.
“Can you hold this flap of skin on the worm while I go and get some pins to hold the body open?” Eddy asked.
“Sure.” Jasmine tried to hide how much her hand was shaking as she held down the tiny flap of skin on the dead worm. Jasmine was terrified of creepy-crawly things, especially when they were dead.
She looked at the disgusting worm. One of its ends twitched, then the other. Jasmine blinked and rubbed her eyes. I didn’t just see that, she thought. Then, as if possessed, the worm squirmed in an “S” pattern. Pieces of its guts fell off while it wiggled and rolled. Then it wrapped itself so tightly around Jasmine’s fingers that it squished all of its insides into her hand and all over her fingers.
She screamed. Mr. Crapsnik ran to her. Hannah and Mia were there. Eddy was by her side now, too. They all looked down at Jasmine’s hand. Part of the worm was in her hand, but most of it was smeared between the dissection tray and her fingers.
“I see you will need a new worm,” Mr. Crapsnik said. He was so angry he was almost shaking. “Why did you do this, Jasmine? How? Never mind. I don’t even want to know.”
“The worm . . . it moved in my hand,” Jasmine tried to explain. Seeing the disbelief on his face and even Eddy’s, she gave up. “The formaldehyde
fumes must be getting to me.”
Mia and Hannah were very concerned, but they went back to their station. They knew how sometimes, in certain situations, the dead could come to life.
Jasmine put her head down on her desk. Suddenly she was burning up on the inside. She was even starting to break out in a sweat. But no sooner did she close her eyes to try to block out the world and give her mind a rest than the fire alarm began to sound.
All at once, the whole school was rushing to get outside. Once everyone was gathered on the lawn, Mr. Crapsnik found Eddy and Jasmine. He pulled them aside and said, “Listen, I don’t know what you two have been up to, but what just happened with the worm will not happen in my classroom. Jasmine, I am very disappointed in you. Screaming in the middle of class and squishing that worm. I just don’t understand the pleasure in that.” His voice was controlled, but just barely. Judging by the vein popping out of his forehead, it must have taken him every ounce of energy to not to yell in front of the entire shivering student body. “I will let this go, but you will never be lab partners again!”
Jasmine was shaking. She had no idea what had just happened. Mia and Hannah came over to her.
“Are you okay?” asked Hannah.
“I don’t know.” Jasmine was so confused. “Strange things have been happening to me over the past week.” Jasmine started to tell about the footsteps in the junior hallway, the strange blackout, being tapped on the shoulder, even the feeling of being watched while she and Eddy were together.
Before Mia and Hannah could say anything, the fire alarm stopped. The all-clear was given.
The mob of students, teachers, and administrators slowly moved back into the school.
“Thanks for listening, you guys,” Jasmine said. “It kind of felt like old times.”
The Gateway Page 3